Sun Messe Nichinan Miyazaki Prefecture Japan Moai Park

I traveled to Japan in October/November 2013 and went to this awesome moai park in Miyazaki. I actually learned about it because someone posted a picture on this site, asking if anyone had any more info. I googled it, saw where it was, and that it was near where I would be traveling, and I went there. It was fantastic. Unfortunately, I've tried all kinds of search terms and cannot find the original post. But I wanted to post some info here since this is where I learned of this site.
The place is called Sun Messe Nichinan and it is in Miyazaki Prefecture. It was built because some Japanese researchers were recruited to restore authentic moai statues on easter Island. Once the project was finished, the Japanese wanted to honor the relationship and promote interest in Polynesian culture. So recreations of the moai were placed on the Nichinan coast. It's not a mid century modern "tiki" type of place, but it is very cool to be in Japan and feel like you're someplace else. It's just an interesting place to experience.
Thanks for bringing it to my attention. Sorry I was unable to find the original post.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/24735241@N02/11697712014/

Cool! Thanks for sharing. I don't think I'll be there (or Easter Island ) anytime soon so I love looking at pictures!

Great photos, and I hope it's not snooping if we looked at some more of your flickr photos from Japan. We're traveling there in April, so it's fun to see some sights even if we won't be in the same places. Your photos of the cave shrine in Miyazaki are fantastic!

Maybe this was a thread where those moai were mentioned on TC before, since they were on the cover of the Roadside Japan book.

There's also this moai in Nagoya :down:, posted by finkdaddy on another thread.

On 2005-09-10 06:35, finkdaddy wrote:
I didn't find any real tiki places in Nagoya. But there was a really cool restaurant I found downtown (I'll post the name as soon as I remember it) that would have been a great tiki place if there had only been even one tiki. It was all dark lit with bamboo and jungle art everywhere. The food was fabulous Asian/Vietnamese and they had a pretty long cocktail list. I had some kind of passion fruit thing which was delicious but not very strong.

I did find this Moai at Nagoya Harbor:

I tried a Mai Tai at a place called Kitty's Garden (or something like that) at the harbor and I'm pretty sure it was just Bacardi and pineapple juice. Very uninspiring.

It was a great trip though, I can't wait to go again!

-Randy

Ah-ha.
Yes, that was the thread. So, sorry I didn't follow up over there, but at least now it's linked.
No, it's not snooping. I made all those pictures public.
If you looked at them all, you probably saw we also went to Tiki Tiki in Tokyo. We had fun at Tiki Tiki, but I didn't try any of their specialty drinks.
We also went to Okinawa. (Which I highly, highly recommend. Still haven't gotten around to uploading any of those photos). But we never made it to Sam's By the Sea.
I don't know where you'll be going or if you'll be seeking out tiki places. I wouldn't expect to find many, but you never know. After 5 trips, I was surprised to find this stuff.